French absinthe receives protected status

‘Absinthe de Pontarlier’ is now registered as a geographical indication in the European Union.

The French spirit - which has an ABV of 45% or above – is produced in the Doubs department, in the east of France near the Swiss border, taking its name from the commune of Pontarlier.

Although well-known from the 18th​ century thanks to its popularity among artists and writers in Paris during the Belle Epoque, France banned the spirit in 1915.

Spirits using an absinthe base were reauthorized across Europe in 1988, leading to a renaissance in production in the Pontarlier region for the spirit and the Artemisia​ absinthium​ (wormwood) plant, from which it is derived.